Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-03-03
TOBACCO AS A NECESSITY.

roormous Consumption in Various Forms
by American Citizens.
correspondent writing from Wash
ION on tho above subject says: Wheth-
tobacco is a luxury or necessity in
5aiIv economy is q disputed question,
- inIging from the quantity annually
-.9med it would seem that tobacco is
~ generally used by the people of the
-;.ed States. and that il must be nee
.ity TO no inconsiderable portion Of
I'm Those who have not analysed the
..,ras collected by the Internal Revenue
nsnsrtment have no conception of the
ut 70 which tobacco is used in this
,rntry. Tea is classified as one of the
,o;Iv necessities of life and enters into
us-y general use, yet compared with the
.nnpsl consumption of tea that of to-
tscco presents a very remarkable CON
tras.. The importation of tea into the
United States during the fiscal year end
;nr June 80, 1886, was S0,399,861 pounds
ne appraised value of which was S16,-
G0O6O. Assuming that two-thirds of the
.irtv millions of people of the United
states are adults and consumers of tea,
The per capiti expenditure of money on
hiq account is about 40 cents.
Compare these figures with those
showing the annugl consumption of to-
bacco During the last fiscal year the
,uality of manufactured tobacco upon
gbicb tax was paid was 1926, 1913
mounds, and as the tax is not paid until
me tobacco is to be withdrawn from bond
tor consumption those figures may be
30 Tho nm M
tBauy used. Snuff and cigars are not in
Guided in these figures, which are confined
TO manufactured tobacco prepared in
plug and packages for chewing and
smoking. Assumed that the same pro-
portion of the people use tobacco that
use tea, it Will be found that the per capt
"a consumption of this article is three
and one-half pounds of tobacco against
two pounds of tea. The amonnt of tax
paid on manufactured tobacco last year
was S14, S35,096, sum nearly equal to
the aggregate appraised value of all
the tea imported during that psriod.
The figures showing the number of ci.
CARS annually consumed are equally in
teresting. Cigars upon which tax was
paid last year foot up 1870 94,4S8. The
average length of cigars is four inches.
If the cigars upon which tax was paid
last year we're laid singly in row they
would extend around the earth nine
times. Laid in streight line they would
extend 221 GAS miles. Distributed among
the entire population of the United
States each person would receive 5S15
cigars. If it be assumed that one-half
of the people smoke the per capt. con-
sumption was equal 80 III cigars.
The consumption Of cigarettes also
! presents interesting figures and shows
/ that the percentage of increase is greater
in cigarettes than in cigars. Tax was
paid last year on 1910, 991, 1850 cigarettes
an increase of 2,212,1 22, over the pre-
ced ing year, while the increase in cigars
consumed during the same period was
Isl, 1885, The amount of tax collected
last year on cigars was Sl9,532 ,S04, and
on cigarettes $685., 500. The total amount
collected during the year on cigars and
tobacco through the internal Revenue
Department was $27, 907, 1868. In add
ton to this amount there was collected
throughout the Custom House for duties
on imported tobacco and cigars $S,4l1,-
ia. Adding these two items gives $780,
/ -NN'A'' az NHS % = ANh GsN VI VIC toN HAla
! asst ar to the government for cigars
and tobacco, which is equal to tax of
60 cents per capiti upon the entire popu-
lation. 1t is within bounds to estimate
the value of the tobacco and cigars con
sumed at four times the amount of the
tax paid. On this basis the people of
the United States paid last year for these
articles SlSl,092,3sG. or more than SO
for every man, woman and child in the
country.
The appraised value of all the coffee
imported for the year ending June 80,
1856, was S42,975, 900, and of the tea S15.-
1882. For tax alone on onr chewing
and smoking there was expended over
S96O0O and for the articles themselves
exclusive of the tax, about S145, 1000.
These facts and figures seem to justify
the claim that tobacco has become to our
people as great a necessity as tea or
coffee,